[FR] Initiation Test for Paladin of Tyr

[uberkitty]

One of the PCs in my FR campaign is a paladin of Tyr, and I have arranged with the player that she takes less booty from encounters (doesn't strip the dead, for instance), and instead gets special items from her order when she levels.

I'm trying to come up with a test -- mostly just a formality, but if she fails miserably, she won't get the goods. I want to test her ability to find the truth, that being the central idea of Tyr's dogma. I was thinking about something along the lines of, she is confronted with a room full of monsters and several items which might be useful: a plussed sword, a wand with one or two charges, maybe a few other things, and a candle. The candle, if lit, dispels illusions. Several of the creatures are illusory, but they do real damage to her if not dispelled. So, in other words, it's a far tougher fight if she doesn't think to use the truth-revealing item.

But it just doesn't feel cool enough yet. Can anyone offer any ideas?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Gilladian]

Well, of course she needs time to investigate the items before she fights; possibly she even needs to have a warning of what's coming up. Perhaps a good riddle she must solve to realize that the candle is helpful. In the meantime, the monsters are apparently in stasis, or are moving very slowly towards her.

Possibly she should also be doing this task in someone's honor or to help someone. A paladin may not like the idea of "do this and you get a reward" as much as "do this and we will then help someone".

Gilladian

 

[uberkitty]

I've done some more thinking about this, and here's what I've got now:

Paladin is advised by leaders something along the lines of, "Fight only what you must, and choose your tools wisely." Paladin enters room with platform (marble slab in center), ringed by statues. On the marble slab are several items, each keyed to one of the creatures -- when she picks up an item, it un-freezes its keyed creature, who moves to attack her. If she puts the item back on the marble, the creatures freezes again. The items will be compelling things like wands, amulets, boots, etc -- all of which would be a big help in a battle under normal circumstances, plus a candle.

If she lights the candle, all but one of the creatures are dispelled. The only "real" creature (keyed to a sword of the type the Paladin uses, but more plussed than hers) is an armored figure who bears an uncanny resemblance to the Paladin herself (in fact, the creature is an exact replica of the Paladin, with her weapons and her attack bonuses, etc.).

The general idea is that in the search for truth, one's most profound adversary is always oneself.